Post-Operative Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation following surgery is often as important as the surgery itself. Being part of New Victoria Hospital, we are very accustomed to treating patients following surgery, those both completed here and elsewhere.

What should I expect in my first appointment?

At New Victoria Physiotherapy, an initial assessment in our outpatient department following surgery can take between 30-45 minutes. If your surgery was performed here, then we will have most of your details already available and therefore only require 30 minutes.

Should your surgery be performed elsewhere, we would need to take a full history. This can include details of your surgery, previous injuries, past medical history, medications and a social history. For this reason, an initial assessment will require 45 minutes.

The physical assessment will include:

Monitoring of the wound (if present)

Pain management and advice

Assessment of movement and strength with adherence to post-operative protocol

Assessment of walking pattern (applicable for lower limb surgeries)

What will my treatment involve?

Post-operative rehabilitation is a long process, and it can often take months to fully recover from surgery. The physiotherapist will aim to gain optimal recovery following surgery and speed this process up as much as possible. Based on your surgery and consultant preferences, there may be restrictions in place following which we must adhere to. This will be taken into consideration throughout your treatment.

Initially after surgery, the main symptoms tend to be pain, swelling and stiffness. Treatment sessions will focus on helping to improve these symptoms through appropriate advice, active and passive mobilisations, and massage as required. Rehabilitation will also focus around restoring function as quickly as possible, including tasks such as walking, washing, dressing etc. As things improve, the emphasis begins towards strengthening and higher level functional tasks. This is often more exercise based, and we are lucky to have a fully equipped gym available for use during your sessions.

Follow up treatment sessions are routinely 30 minutes.

What will I need to bring to Physiotherapy?

When assessing and treating post-surgery, it is necessary to expose the relevant areas in order to be as effective as possible. If your surgery involves the lower back or any body parts below, then shorts are ideal. If the surgery involves the upper body, you will routinely be asked to remove your t-shirt/shirt to expose the relevant areas. If you have a preference for a male or female physiotherapist, please mention this at the time of booking.

If your surgery was performed at New Victoria Hospital, then we will have access to all your correspondence, and will be up to date on your history. If the surgery was performed elsewhere, any correspondence you have, and a copy of your operation notes will be ideal to allow us to rehabilitate you appropriately.

Our team is able to rehabilitate following all surgeries, and are lucky enough to have majority of the surgeons in our area as part of New Victoria Hospital, making communication very easy. Find a full list of operations seen by physiotherapy on the day of surgery as part of our inpatient service here.